NATIONAL Highways will start work on a series of enhancements along the A38 next month.

The company is investing more than £10 million in the coming months.

Work will include refurbishing the deteriorating Whitecleave and Mardle viaducts near Buckfastleigh and improving safety by clearing trees with ash dieback and others posing a safety risk along the route.

The investment, alongside a scheme to enhance electronic signage on overhead gantries at Kennford, will maintain the safety, resilience and reliability of the busy Devon route for many years to come.

Carrying up to 24,000 vehicles daily in each direction, the A38 is a vital route for the Devon economy and it is essential that the structures, carriageway and verges are maintained to carry the volumes of traffic safely.

The first project, to replace expansion joints and improve drainage on the Whitecleave and Mardle viaducts will start in September and is anticipated to complete by the end of January.

The bridge joints are devices designed to accommodate thermal expansion, contraction and traffic loads within a structure.

Following a number of recent repairs, National Highways is carrying out a full refurbishment and replacement scheme to improve the long-term reliability of the viaducts and prevent future maintenance closures.

Repairs to each structure will be carried out in phases and to enable the work along this section, the A38 will be reduced to a single lane in each direction with enforceable 40mph speed limits in place for the safety of the workforce and travelling public, and to maintain reliable traffic flows.

Full overnight closures will also be in place, weeknights only from 8pm to 6am, from September 2 to October 24 with some additional night closures in November and December, and from January 4 to January 25, with diversions in place via the A384 and A385.

Route Manager Ed Halford said: ‘Many of the structures we manage were built over half a century ago and now need renewing or replacing to ensure they remain fit and safe for purpose.

‘It’s essential that we futureproof the viaducts now, to ensure their reliability and to limit the need for future maintenance work, and along with the other works, and further renewal plans for the A38, this represents a significant investment in this busy route.

‘We appreciate roadworks can impact on people’s journeys, and we’re doing everything we can to minimise disruption, by keeping lanes running in each direction while work takes place during the day and by working overnight when traffic levels are at their lowest.

‘In the meantime, we thank drivers and local communities in advance for their patience and advise people to plan ahead and allow extra time for their journeys through the works.’

Tree clearance work along the A38 is ongoing and the resurfacing scheme further east, on a two and a half-mile section of the eastbound A38 between the Peartree and Goodstone junctions, will follow in 2027, after completion of the viaduct scheme.